Outside the house, in the peach blossom grove, two pink fox ears poked out from the shrubbery, swaying left and right along with a little head.
Then, all of a sudden, a cute, slightly chubby face popped up.
“Mm, everything went smoothly. Judging by what I just saw, Aunt Eleven seems to really like Brother Yun Mu.”
Tu Shan Huaizhi nodded, her fluffy tail swishing back and forth.
“All the effort I put in yesterday to help Brother Yun Mu with that gift wasn’t wasted, heh heh, as expected of me…”
“Hey! What are you grinning so stupidly for?”
“Eh!”
She hadn’t had time to enjoy her happiness for long when the little fox suddenly felt a sharp pain in her tail.
She yanked it back and turned to look to her left, only to see a very familiar face—Qin Luoyi.
Qin Luoyi was holding a pen in one hand and a small notebook in the other, scribbling and muttering under her breath as she wrote.
“Hmm, Xiao Yunzi may not have been born into a good family, but he does know proper etiquette. Although I don’t like these tedious formalities, we’ll still have to meet Father eventually, so teaching him shouldn’t be too difficult.”
“Meet your father? Qin, Qin Luoyi, what are you planning to do with my Brother Yun Mu?”
The little fox, seeing right through the girl’s intentions at a glance, raised a finger at her, her tone full of vigilance.
“What do you mean, planning? Little fox, didn’t I already say before? I’ll become his Dao Companion in the future…”
“Dao Companion, no, no way! You’re a bad woman, I won’t allow it!”
“Even if you don’t allow it, it has to be allowed. At the end of the day, you’re just his younger sister—what kind of sister decides her own brother’s life-long marriage? Besides, you’ll have to call me Sister-in-law eventually. Are you sure you don’t want to get along with me first? Or is it… you actually want to get in between us and have some kind of forbidden love?”
Qin Luoyi put away her paper and pen, stood up, and looked down at Tu Shan Huaizhi.
With her proud figure blocking the dawn light that should have been shining on the little fox demon, she unleashed a barrage of words:
“Besides, your Brother Yun Mu has said it himself—he likes girls with my kind of figure. As for you… hmph hmph… no chest, no butt, just a little brat. Go to bed early; you can have anything you want in your dreams.”
Obviously, Yun Mu had never said such a thing—she was making it up.
But how could Tu Shan Huaizhi know that?
Upon hearing those words, the timid look on her face vanished, replaced by sudden confidence.
“Hmph! That’s where you’re wrong, Qin Luoyi. I’m still growing, and with my age, I’ll keep growing for a long, long time yet.”
As she spoke, she slowly stood up, met Qin Luoyi’s gaze, and proudly puffed out her slightly budding chest.
“And besides, just look at my mother—you should be able to guess that I’ll definitely grow into a super charming big fox demon. But you… you’re probably done growing, aren’t you?”
“Ha? But genetics don’t only depend on your mother. Who knows what kind of influence your father will have on you?”
“Heh heh, not to hide it from you, but… I don’t have a father…”
The proud tone stunned Qin Luoyi for a moment.
She had never thought that not having a father could be a source of happiness.
This, in turn, gave her values as a human a bit of a jolt.
“Looks like I really should take Xiao Yunzi away. You demons, never mind your so-called rules—you don’t even have the most basic sense of propriety, justice, honesty, and shame.”
“What!? What do you mean we don’t have any sense of propriety or shame?”
Tu Shan Huaizhi grabbed the departing Qin Luoyi, cheeks puffed up in anger.
“Your father’s gone and you’re still happy? Isn’t that unfilial?”
“But I’m just telling the truth! I really don’t have a father!”
“Tsk, playing the lute to a cow. Shameless. Let go of me.”
Clearly, their conversation was completely out of sync—they were in two entirely different worlds.
While the two were locked in this deadlock, all of a sudden, a cherry blossom-hued figure appeared among the trees behind them, quietly drawing near.
“Um, excuse me, do you know if Yun Mu is cultivating here?”
It wasn’t until she had walked up close that she finally spoke, breaking up the pair’s argument.
Tu Shan Huaizhi and Qin Luoyi turned their heads at the same time, both their eyes lighting up.
“Shangguan Xunyi!?”
“Sister Xunyi!!”
They both exclaimed in surprise, then rushed to the girl’s side, one human and one demon each hugging an arm, grinning from ear to ear.
“Hm? Huaizhi, Luoyi, what are you two doing here? Wait… do you know each other?”
“As if I know her!”
they said in unison.
“Haha… I see… Then I misunderstood you two…”
Shangguan Xunyi clearly hadn’t expected this situation.
She’d only come here because she’d heard about Yun Mu’s situation from her master and wanted to sneak a peek at his training.
Who would have thought she’d bump into these two in the middle of an argument—let alone that both were people she knew.
For a moment, the girl caught in the middle was at a loss for what to do.
Just as she was wondering how to speak up, Qin Luoyi was the first to talk, her tone turning a little more serious.
“Xunyi, you just asked about Yun Mu, right? That reminds me, you’re from the Shangguan family, too. Don’t tell me, are you with Shangguan Hongzhi?”
“No, I don’t really count as part of the Shangguan family anymore.”
“You’re not part of the Shangguan family?”
“Mm, it’s a long story.”
“Then make it a short story… No, forget it, I’m not in the mood for stories right now. Anyway, you’re not here to cause trouble, right?”
“Of course not.”
“Good.”
With that, Qin Luoyi relaxed her tone.
She didn’t want things to get tense between them just as they met, like when they’d first encountered each other and ended up fighting fiercely.
Unfortunately, Shangguan Xunyi’s expression cooled.
She placed her hand on the princess’s shoulder, smiling, “So, can you explain why you and Yun Mu know each other?”
“It’s a long story.”
“Then make it short.”
For a moment, silence.
“…That’s it?”
After a while, Qin Luoyi finally asked in surprise.
She’d expected the other girl to brush her off just as she had, but the result was completely unexpected.
Feeling the increasing force of Xunyi’s grip, the princess finally realized the current situation.
“Xunyi, you’re not here to steal my man, are you?”
Not to be outdone, she grabbed Xunyi’s arm in return.
“What do you mean, your man?”
“Just what it sounds like. Or are you saying Xiao Yunzi is your man?”
“He’s not your man either, Qin Luoyi.”
The tension between the two grew, and just as it looked like things would explode, the always-listening Tu Shan Huaizhi finally blurted out, “Sister Xunyi, are you really close with Brother Yun Mu?”
“Mm, very close. Childhood sweethearts, that kind.”
A simple answer, but it made both Qin Luoyi and Shangguan Xunyi release their holds.
They surrounded the little fox demon, staring at the suddenly bashful girl, then exchanged solemn glances.
“So, it turns out, we’re all rivals. Haha.”
“Yeah, I didn’t expect you, Xunyi, to have feelings for Xiao Yunzi, too.”
“Huh? Sister Xunyi likes Brother Yun Mu?”
The little fox’s straightforward question sent the tension at the scene to a whole new high.
Just as Shangguan Xunyi was feeling at a loss, a sudden clap of thunder exploded in the sky above.
Birds and beasts cried out and fled their nests as the three girls instinctively looked up.
At the distant edge of the western sky, a vast, thick, pitch-black cloud was slowly forming.
Amid flashes of lightning and thunder, one could faintly make out seven colors—red, green, blue, yellow, gray, black, and white—spiraling around a pillar of white light at the center.
“This is… someone awakening for the first time? What a tremendous amount of energy—and such a phenomenon, I’ve never seen before. It must be a star beyond the Fifth Heaven.”
“Judging by the direction and distance, it’s around the region of Lixun City. Considering the timing, it’s probably your little sister, Shangguan Qiu Yue, right? Not really surprising.”
“So beautiful… but why does it feel so… sad…”
The three girls stared up at the sudden wonder in the sky, completely forgetting their earlier squabble.
“By the way… isn’t this awakening happening at the wrong time?”
But after a moment, the always-left-out Tu Shan Huaizhi spoke up, her gaze on the seven colors circling the white, “I remember, don’t you humans usually begin awakening around midnight, just before your birthday?”
Her words hit the mark, snapping Shangguan Xunyi and Qin Luoyi back to reality.
“Now that you mention it, that’s true. Between communing with the stars before awakening and digesting the power after, people like us—who need five full hours for the process—are rare. But this is ten hours early…”
“Er, Qin Luoyi, is it possible Qiu Yue’s birthday was yesterday?”
“Yester… well, honestly, I can’t really remember my cousin’s birthday. But I think I know what’s going on now.”
“I have a good idea too… In Lixun, probably only your father could pull this off, right?”
“Shh, not so loud. You can talk carelessly when I’m not around, but if you say those things in front of me, I won’t mind losing a friend and a rival.”
“Haha, only if you can kill me.”
They exchanged glances, then looked up at the clouds, falling silent again.
Tu Shan Huaizhi listened to their cryptic conversation, thoroughly confused.
“Um, Qin, Qin Luoyi, could you tell me what’s really going on?”
No response.
“If you tell me, I’ll call you ‘Sister-in-law’ twice! How about it?”
The little fox, rarely employing such ‘psychological tactics,’ still got only a shake of the head in response.
Seeing that didn’t work, her ears drooped, and she turned hopeful eyes to Shangguan Xunyi.
“Sister Xunyi! I…”
“No can do, not now.”
“Oh… fine…”
“But, I can secretly tell you later.”
“Great! Yay, Sister Xunyi, you’re the best!”
“So you won’t call me ‘Sister-in-law’?”
“Eh!? Of course not, that was only for Qin Luoyi, not for you, Sister Xunyi!”
The little fox stuck out her tongue, her mischievous expression making Shangguan Xunyi unable to resist ruffling her hair a couple of times.
The girl could never refuse a child’s act of endearment.
Before, it had been Shangguan Qiu Yue—now, it was Tu Shan Huaizhi.
Not far away.
Eleven, who had reappeared at some point, glanced at the clouds for a moment, then turned to look at the three girls chatting animatedly and now fully revealed.
She shook her head.
Then, dropping a peach blossom at the doorway, she walked back inside.
In the room, Yun Mu was tightly bound and lying on the bed.
His brows were furrowed, sweat drenched his body, and his face was deathly pale.
From him emanated a faint aura, almost identical to the power unleashed in the sky during Shangguan Qiu Yue’s awakening.
Eleven looked down at the youth without taking any further action; she simply watched.
“Xiao Mu, since I’m an outsider, it’s not my place to interfere with your Star Fate being stolen. If you can get through this, then afterwards, your cultivation with me will be smooth sailing.”
“If you can’t purge it completely… hmm, although it won’t harm your body, for your cultivation, it will be a calamity.”
“You should be able to feel it clearly—your body is no longer fit to accept this power.”
“Do you understand?”
She fell silent.
Upon hearing Yun Mu’s two weak grunts of acknowledgment, she nodded, pulled over a bamboo chair from nearby, and sat down, saying nothing more.